Fighting A Migraine

INTRODUCING

FIGHTING A MIGRAINE

(AKA MIGS)

Hi Migs! I am almost done with your interview. I just have a few more questions for you.

Okay

Okay question 1:

What made you decide to try out Twitter in that fateful day?

I had done Twitter before and wanted to start over and try something new and fresh. I though of my @ and name kind of quickly. I found a picture for my avi, and boom, I was a new me. I knew I wanted to find a way to express myself. But what the account would be about, I had no idea. I was not prepared to talk about a lot of my personal life, certainly not at first. I found #vss365 by total accident. I wrote stuff and just added hashtags to random words. Totally clueless. BUT... I liked the idea of the creativity. I could express deeper thoughts, humor, nonsense, anything through micro-fiction.... and eventually poetry. And the #WritingCommunity came to my rescue and explained some of the basics and other prompts I could use. I was hooked!

That seems to happen! I’m glad you’re here.

Question 2:

I am glad I am here too.

Have you consider entering your work into any of the many contests, anthologies, etc. that are often advertised?

I have thought about it. I did #vss365a tweets when I first started but had literally no idea what it was and did it all wrong. Completely wrong! [Until the very end, when I did figure it out.] And, no, I was not in the anthology. I really had to get many months under my belt to feel even a hint of confidence that what I am writing is any good. It was so unplanned. I am so untrained. Luckily, I got so much encouragement from the community. So so much. That kept me going, but I did not knew at first if the kind words are just people being polite, or really reflected something real. It could have been the proverbial smoke blown up my ass. But over time, I got the sense that when I dig deep and am honest and write from that place, I can connect with myself and with other people. And I think that is genuine. So even if the poems are not technically great or lack good form, I think my better poems (and stories) do have merit and value. So I have thought about trying to submit them someplace. That is a pretty recent thought. I don’t even know where to begin. One constant is that on some of this stuff I remain a little clueless. I have not seen the advertised contests and anthologies you mention. I would be interested to learn more about that. By the way, I just looked up “blowing smoke up your ass” to make sure I used it correctly (a reflection of my self-confidence issues), and apparently in the 1700s, medical professionals actual blew smoke into peoples’ rectums. It was used to try to resuscitate people especially after drowning. Who knew?

1. I love learning obscure facts because of writing 2. I did not previously know where the saying came from ... and I’m glad I now do

Also, I am often inspired by your writing, and I don’t find myself noticing any kind of lack of knowledge or skill.

“Smoke was blown up the rectum by inserting a tube. This tube was connected to a fumigator and a bellows which when compressed forced smoke into the rectum. Sometimes a more direct route to the lungs was taken by forcing the smoke into the nose and mouth, but most physicians felt the rectal method was more effective. The nicotine in the tobacco was thought to stimulate the heart to beat stronger and faster, thus encouraging respiration. The smoke was also thought to warm the victim and dry out the person's insides, removing excessive moisture.”

Bahaha!!!

Sorry, now obsessed with smoke up the ass, lol

Understandable

Makes good sense

Thank you for your kind compliment.

That is a good example of the encouragement I found with the #WritingCommunity all the time.

I love that about the community!

Okay last question:

Do you see yourself ever using your real name in your writing? At what point do you think that could happen?

Excellent question, Shauna. I have thought about it. My comfort on Twitter so far has been to fully be myself (not a character) but also to be anonymous. Those two have gone together, hand-in-glove (or smoke-in-ass, if I can turn that phrase). I don’t have to worry what my work colleagues or family or other real life connections think. That is freeing in a certain way. I am not censoring myself for that other audience that knows me in a different context. On Twitter, I can be as open as I want and reveal true things about me. Or I can be silly and ridiculous. I am Migs, but I am still me 100%. At some point though, I do feel a desire to share more of me, to reveal more about me, and maybe even to come out from behind the cartoon avi and show my face and share my name. I think if it happens, it will be a gradual thing and not very soon. I thought about this recently because I am trying to collect some of my poems together for a book, and I need to identify the author. Apparently that is a thing people do. Is there a chance I put my real name on this book? Probably not much for this first one, but I can see over time wanting to do that as part of the progression of how I present myself. Or maybe I will just have enough self-confidence at some point to say I will do it, IDGAF. But I also like being Migs.

Well, for what it's worth, I know a lot of people who like Migs!

Thanks for participating in this interview. It's important for us to see that there are many different versions of being a writer

STANDARD TWEEP TATTLER INTERVIEW:

1) Where do you live? 

I live in the Southeast USA, the deep south I suppose. I have been here for a number of years, but I am from the Midwest. I miss the winter weather of the north. I don’t get to see much snow here…

2) What is the first thing you remember writing?
As a kid, maybe 10 to 12 years old, I used to write fantasy stories, in long hand on lined paper. I had grand ambitions for these stories, but I would usually abandon them after writing a chapter of what was to be a book. When I was older, I liked to write short humorous stories with friends in high school.  We came up with all kinds of inside jokes, so something that sounded just a bit weird, or maybe even like a normal story, would be totally hilarious to us. No one understood why… just as we wanted it!

3) Why do you write? 
I didn’t pursue creative writing after high school. I went on to more school and then a job and never really thought about writing as a creative outlet. I started my Twitter account (@ominoushallways) on May 1, 2019. I had no idea what I would do with it. After a bit, I found #vss365 and tried my hand at writing some microfiction and poetry. I was very unsure of myself. I hashtagged one of my first poems with #SortaLikePoetry. I wasn’t even sure the poem counted as a poem. I am untrained and never wrote any poetry. But I found that it was an amazing outlet to express myself. I could dig deep and really talk about a feeling, a fear, a hope, a question, an idea. I could get brave and be silly. It was all great. I planned just to write one story or poem each day, but I got hooked on it. And of course I got connected into the #WritingCommunity, which has been amazing.

4) Have you published any of your work?   
No, I never have. I am planning to collect some of my Twitter poems into a book. Several people have encouraged me to do this, notably @ForgottenAstro2. It is exciting, but I need to find the time to do it. I would like to find other ways to publish some poems and eventually longer work.

5) What are you currently writing? 

I am just doing poems and stories on Twitter at the moment. I would like to write some longer stories and come up with a WIP. Again the #WritingCommunity has been very supportive of this idea. People like the amazing @AuthorRidge have encouraged me. I am not sure how to do it yet. But I have gone from thinking it would be impossible to thinking maybe it is possible. Maybe.

6) Are you currently querying? 
Nope. Just dreaming…

7) Finish this sentence (three lines or less):

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT… 

…just the way he liked it. Usually. But tonight of all nights. The night he decided to exact revenge by digging up his dead relatives. The rain-soaked ground slid from under him. He was buried alive in the half unearthed grave of his brother. Until the lightning hit, bringing them both back to life…*

[*More than three lines, but most of them are not even complete sentences.]

8) Which activities do you like to participate in, in the Twitter writing community (VSS365, etc.)? 
I like doing a few of the prompts, notably #vss365, #hangtenstories, #haikuchallenge, #TankaThursday and a few others. I am moderating #vsspic, which is a photo prompt hashtag. That has been really fun. I enjoy interacting with other writers. I try to participate in some of the games and camaraderie. As my account has grown, and the notifications have increased, it is harder to have time to read as much of other people’s tweets as I would like. But I really love reading what people write and commenting and interacting. That is a pure joy because so many people are friendly, smart, warm and talented. And funny. I like humor.

9) Do you have any formal training/education for writing?

I did a lot of writing in college. I was a history major with a minor in English literature. I was writing all the time. And I write for my job. But none of that involved creative writing. So I have no training for what I have been doing on Twitter. I never wrote a poem until my Twitter account, and I still do not know the rules of poetry. So maybe it is all trash, but I just write what feels right to me to express a thought or idea. I started to use poetry because I felt I could express more in 280 characters in a poem than in microfiction. 

10) Do the people in your life know that you write?
My wife knows and supports it. I have vaguely mentioned it to a few friends, but I am anonymous on my Twitter so I can just write what I want without having to worry about what my real life friends and family might think. I find it more comfortable that way and a bit freeing. I have Twitter friends of course who I consider part of my life, so they know. But most people I interact with on a daily basis outside of Twitter have no idea at all.

11) Tell me about the people in your life. Family? Pets?
I am married in a very successful partnership. My wife is insightful, supportive, caring and loving, among many other amazing qualities. She is a big reader, so books are an important part of her life. We have two teenage kids, a boy and a girl. The boy is the younger of the two and has a physical disability that impacts his mobility. He is not wheelchair bound, but he has his challenges. We have all learned a lot from that. My son likes creative writing, my daughter and wife do not. Both kids are musical, and I love music even if I cannot play. My daughter is a science girl. We have no pets. I am allergic to dogs and cats and have very little experience around them. We used to have a tortoise. I thought he was pretty cool. I am the most playful person in my family.  That usually means I am ready to kid around and play games, and everyone else rolls their eyes, shakes their head or just totally ignores my nonsense. 

12) Where do you wish your writing to take you?
I am trying to get the courage to dream a bit bigger. Maybe I have a book in me some day. Maybe it will come out.

13) What did you expect when you joined the Twitter writing community? Did it turn out as expected?

It has been beyond my imagination. For starters, I did not intend to join the #WritingCommunity. I just did some tweets with the #vss365 hashtag and I was invited in. I was almost dragged in with the incredible enthusiasm of the community. I definitely would not have had the courage to keep writing and sharing more and more of my thoughts and feelings without the overwhelming support of that community. I remember in particular @Write2Fite giving me so much encouragement on some of my earliest writings. But many others did too and still do. It is just more than I could have ever expected.

14) Where do you write?

I write everywhere! I usually just write directly on the Twitter app on my phone. Usually I sit in a comfy chair in the morning with my coffee and write a bit. I will use work breaks to write. If an idea comes to me, I try to get it recorded somehow before it is gone. I travel for work and will write in ubers, trains, planes, hotel rooms. It gives me the freedom to express myself wherever I am. And sometimes I just write regular tweets that are not poems or stories. That is fun too. If I write something longer, I am sure I would use my laptop, and probably sit at a desk or table like an adult. 

15) How much time do you dedicate to writing, weekly?

It is hard to say, but Twitter draws you in. It is many hours per week. Sometimes I write a short poem in a couple minutes. The words just come to me. Other times I might spend most of an hour on one silly little microfiction tweet. And, honestly, the faster ones often are better even though they just pop out. 

16) Do you have other talents?

I wish I had some amazing talents, but I don’t really. I like cooking but don’t do it as much as I used to. I love live music, but I do not play. I like traveling, but that is hardly a talent. So basically…  not so much. I think I am a good husband, an attentive parent, a caring and loyal friend. I can make myself laugh (or torture myself with negativity). That will have to do for my so-called talents.

17) CHOOSE ONE:

A.             I do not mind when other writers ask for advice.

B.             I’d rather keep to myself!

I choose A.  I definitely do not mind if others ask for advice.  I am not sure if I am the best source of information and advice, but I genuinely like to interact and offer my thoughts (for what they are worth).

ABOUT MIGS

Migs was born on May 1, 2019 as a confused cartoon robot fighting a migraine at the end of a dark ominous hallway. He was clueless and confused as he emerged from the hallway into the vast bright world of Twitter, naked and alone. His first attempts at tweets fell flat. He had never written stories or poetry until he found #vss365 by accident. He decided to try and people told him, "You're a writer and a poet!" Migs was quite confused but happy. Writing is fun!

The creator of Migs is an adult human male, who is happily married with two teenage kids. He lives in the Southeastern USA, but is a Midwesterner. When he is not writing, he likes live music and soaking in a warm waffle bath.